Music biography, Canadian biography, Women biography, Canadian authors (Non-fiction)

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High School is the revelatory and unique coming-of-age story of Sara and Tegan Quin, identical twins from Calgary, Alberta, growing…up in the height of grunge and rave culture in the 90s, well before they became the celebrated musicians and global LGBTQ icons we know today. While grappling with their identity and sexuality, often alone, they also faced academic meltdown, their parents' divorce, and the looming pressure of what might come after high school. Written in alternating chapters from both Tegan's point of view and Sara's, the book is a raw account of the drugs, alcohol, love, music, and friendship they explored in their formative years. A transcendent story of first loves and first songs, it captures the tangle of discordant and parallel memories of two sisters who grew up in distinct ways even as they lived just down the hall from one another. 2019.

In early 2018, the failures of Canada's justice system were sharply and painfully revealed in the verdicts issued in the…deaths of Colten Boushie and Tina Fontaine. The outrage and confusion that followed those verdicts inspired former Crown prosecutor and bestselling author Harold R. Johnson to make the case against Canada for its failure to fulfill its duty under Treaty to effectively deliver justice to Indigenous people, worsening the situation and ensuring long-term damage to Indigenous communities. In this direct, concise, and essential volume, Harold R. Johnson examines the justice system's failures to deliver "peace and good order" to Indigenous people. He explores the part that he understands himself to have played in that mismanagement, drawing on insights he has gained from the experience; insights into the roots and immediate effects of how the justice system has failed Indigenous people, in all the communities in which they live; and insights into the struggle for peace and good order for Indigenous people now. 2019.

Fifty years ago, a serial killer prowled the quiet city of London, Ontario, marking it as his hunting grounds. As…young women and boys were abducted, raped, and murdered, residents of the area held their loved ones closer and closer, terrified of the monster -- or monsters -- stalking the streets. Homicide detective Dennis Alsop began hunting the killer in the 1960s, and he didn't stop searching until his death 40 years later. For decades, detectives, actual and armchair, and the victims' families and friends continued to ask questions: Who was the Forest City Killer? Was there more than one person, or did a depraved individual commit all of these crimes on his own? Combing through the files Detective Alsop left behind, researcher Vanessa Brown reopens the cases, revealing previously unpublished witness statements, details of evidence, and astonishing revelations. And through her investigation, Vanessa posits the unthinkable: is it possible that the Forest City Killer is still alive and, like the notorious Golden State Killer, a simple DNA test could bring him to justice? 2019.

A historical work of non-fiction that chronicles the little-known stories of black railway porters--the so-called "Pullmen" of the Canadian rail…lines. The actions and spirit of these men helped define Canada as a nation in surprising ways, effecting race relations, human rights, North American multiculturalism, community building, the shape and structure of unions, and the nature of travel and business across the US and Canada. Drawing on the stories and legends of several of these influential early black Canadians, this book narrates the history of a very visible, but rarely considered, aspect of black life in railway-age Canada. These porters, who fought against the idea of Canada as White Man's Country, open only to immigrants from Europe, fought for and won a Canada that would provide opportunities for all its citizens. Bestseller. 2019.

In the spring of 2006, Don Gillmor travelled to Whitehorse to reconstruct the last days of his brother, David, whose…truck and cowboy hat were found at the edge of the Yukon River just outside of town the previous December. David's family, his second wife, and his friends had different theories about his disappearance. Some thought David had run away; some thought he'd met with foul play; but most believed that David, a talented musician who at the age of 48 was about to give up the night life for a day job, had intentionally walked into the water. Just as Don was about to paddle the river looking for traces, David's body was found, six months after he'd gone into the river. And Don's canoe trip turned into an act of remembrance and mourning. At least David could now be laid to rest. But there was no rest for his survivors. As his brother writes, "When people die of suicide, one of the things they leave behind is suicide itself. It becomes a country. At first I was a visitor, but eventually I became a citizen." In this tender, probing, surprising work, Don Gillmor brings back news from that country for all of us who wonder why people kill themselves. And why, for the first time, it's not the teenaged or the elderly who have the highest suicide rate, but the middle aged. Especially men. 2018.

Adventurers and explorers, Canadian biography, Canadian authors (Non-fiction)

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On an island paradise in 1943, Sir Harry Oakes, gold mining tycoon, philanthropist and "richest man in the Empire," was…murdered. The news of his death surged across the English-speaking world, from London, the Imperial centre, to the remote Canadian mining town of Kirkland Lake, in the Northern Ontario bush. The murder became celebrated as "the crime of the century." The layers of mystery deepened as the involvement of Oakes' son-in-law, Count Alfred de Marigny, came quickly to be questioned, as did the odd machinations of the Governor of the Bahamas, the former King Edward VIII. Despite a sensational trial, no murderer was ever convicted. Rumours were unrelenting about Oakes' missing fortune, and fascination with the Oakes story has persisted for decades. Award-winning biographer and popular historian Charlotte Gray explores, for the first time, the life of the man behind the scandal, a man who was both reviled and admired - from his early, hardscrabble days of mining exploration, to his explosion of wealth, to his grandiose gestures of philanthropy. And Gray brings fresh eyes to the bungled investigation and shocking trial in the remote colonial island streets, proposing an overlooked suspect in this long cold case. 2019.

Biography of persons with disabilities, Women biography, Canadian biography, Canadian authors (Non-fiction)

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Born with congenital anomalies in both feet, then called birth defects, Dorothy Ellen Palmer was adopted as a toddler by…a wounded 1950s family who had no idea how to handle the tangled complexities of adoption and disability. From repeated childhood surgeries to an activist awakening at university to decades as a feminist teacher, mom, improv coach and unionist, she tried to hide being different. But now, standing proud with her walker, she's sharing her journey. Navigating abandonment, abuse and ableism, she finds her birth parents and a new chosen family in the disability community. 2019.

From the endangered Canadian boreal forest to the environmentally threatened Svalbard archipelago off the coast of Norway, Jenna Butler takes…us on a sea voyage that connects continents and traces the impacts of climate change on northern lands. With a conservationist, female gaze, she questions explorer narratives and the mythic draw of the polar North. As a woman who cannot have children, she writes out the internal friction of travelling in Svalbard during the fertile height of the Arctic summer. Blending travelogue and poetic meditation on place

A collection of court cases that had presented personal and ethical challenges and had surprising turn of events. Lawyers describe…the difficulties they faced in some of Canada's most famous criminal cases and what sort of things haunt them afterwards. 2017.

Our cellphones, our clothes, our food: all are everyday things we consider essential, but we seldom think of what and…who is involved in making them and getting them into our hands. Tackles the complex dynamics of the global economy, examining the often complex journey of ordinary goods, from production right to our doorsteps. Grades 5-8. 2019.

Many of us grew up scoring a thousand glorious NHL goals in our minds, and on our streets and corner…rinks. We won the Stanley Cup over and over in our imaginations. What happened to those childhood heroics? We packed them in a box with our hockey cards and forgot them. Growing Up Hockey uses the heartwarming and comical exploits of a house-league third-liner to prompt us to re-live our memories of hockey glory. It shows that for those who love it, the game is never far away. Bobby Hull, Frank Mahovlich, Wayne Gretzky they're all here. But equally large are the neighbourhood rink bullies, the Pee Wee league super-starts and the obsessed NHL aficionados. Together, they create a hockey myth as grand as ever existed and as unique as each of us. 2007.

Spanning the years 1880-1930, this book sheds light on the significant roles ranch women played in the evolution of the…Alberta agricultural industry. The book encapsulates an era of change on the Prairies, from the time of large cattle operations covering thousands of acres to family-owned ranches that subsisted on much less, but with arguably greater success. The role women played in ensuring the economic viability and social harmony of their families, ranches and communities should not be underestimated. Having to shoulder a variety of tasks and roles, ranch women of this era, while perhaps having more freedom and independence than their urban or European counterparts, faced a myriad of challenges. For some, these previously unimaginable challenges proved too much, but for others, it was simply part of the adventure. This book pays homage to the brave and talented women who rode out in the hills, carving out a role for themselves, during the dawn of the family ranching era. 2017.

Canadian non-fiction, Canadian authors (Non-fiction), Nature, Animals and wildlife

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Part of the nonfiction Orca Footprints series for middle readers, illustrated with many color photographs. Readers will find out what…urban rewilding is and how it can make our lives (and our planet) safer and healthier. Grades 2-4. 2018.

Canadian non-fiction, Canadian authors (Non-fiction), Nature, Animals and wildlife

Human-narrated audio, Human-transcribed braille

Do polar bears build homes to keep warm? Do penguins snuggle with a friend? Yes! But their homes aren't made…of wood, and penguins don't cuddle on a couch. Instead, these animals -- and many others -- have adapted in amazing ways to survive chilly weather. A light-hearted introduction to animal adaptations around the world. Grades K-3. 2018.